Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works and Partnerships Technical Bureau (PTB) have issued a request for qualification (RFQ) to local and international firms to prequalify for a wastewater treatment plant in the Ummu al-Hayman area of southern Kuwait.

The firms have been asked to submit prequalification documents by 21 June for the plant on a design, finance, build, test, commission, operate and maintenance basis.

Kuwait plans to build a wastewater system with an initial capacity of 500,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), and associated wastewater transmission and sewage effluent networks. The second phase of construction will expand treatment capacity of 700,000 cm/d.  

The new plant will be located on the site of the existing Ummu Al-Hayman wastewater treatment plant, with transmission and distribution systems extending to the surrounding catchment areas. The new Ummu al-Hayman facility will treat raw sewage that will be diverted from the Riqqa plant, which has a capacity of 180,000 cm/d and is to be decommissioned.

Kuwait’s Higher Committee approved the RFQ document in early March. More than 35 companies have expressed interest in the deal since then. The PTB is expected to draw up a shortlist of qualified companies before inviting bids in July.

According to the tender, the PTB and Ministry of Public Works has invited all “investors not listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange – Foreign, Local and Consortia”.

The Ministry of Public Works will enter into a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement for an investment term of 25 years for the plant in addition to the design-construction term for the associated wastewater transmission and sewage effluent networks.